The Perils of Self-Doubt
My name is Isabella and I’m a self-doubter.
Do you ever doubt yourself? Maybe that seems like a silly question as most people have doubted themselves at some point or another. But, when we continuously question ourselves, this can be a major contributor to holding us back from real success.
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The Reason for Self-Doubt
Why do we doubt ourselves? Honestly, sometimes it’s easier to doubt yourself than it is to believe that something is possible. That’s just a fact for most of us.
When you set a goal for yourself, it’s something that hasn’t materialized yet; it’s unfamiliar territory. Our natural protective instinct tells us to reach for something familiar, and we use this as a reason to quit.
Fear of the unknown also pushes us to come up with all sorts of excuses. It’s easy to say it won’t work because, and then insert whatever reason can set your mind at ease.
Maybe you’ve set up an Esty shop and have been trying to make sales for months, but nothing’s happening. What do you say to yourself? Do you say you’re not cut out for this? Or do you decide your product sucks and immediately pack it all in?
Protective Instincts
There are times when doubts can actually help us survive. For instance, if someone said that you could jump off a high cliff and not get killed, your self-doubt will reassure you that this is a bad idea. Self-doubt can also sometimes guide you to not get into something shady, like a business opportunity that sounds too good to be true, for example.
In most cases though, self-doubt isn’t something that’ll advance your vision. Don’t take the easy way out. Remember, successful people, are where they are because they kept at it even when they failed at some point.
You can use affirmations, support groups, or whatever works to flush out as much negative energy as possible.
Self-doubt produces negative energy, and if you have 100% negative energy that means you have 0% positive energy. So, you’re going to have to tip the scale to as much positivity as possible to push away the negativity!
So yes, the doubts will come, and you’ll have days when you don’t even feel like getting out of bed or posting to social media or writing another blog post!
When this happens, take a few minutes to try a few things:
- Review your vision board again if you have one. If you don’t have a vision board, create one!
- Write down your goals or restructure them to be more achievable (smaller steps, usually). Here’s a cool planner that will help.
- Look back at the last six months to a year and realize just how much you’ve accomplished. You’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.
- Learn something new related to your business growth. Doing this might even lead to tips for moving forward in your business
- Go easy on yourself. We’re human so not always feeling your best is NORMAL.
- Stop reading or listening to bad news for a while! Instead, try listening to an encouraging podcast or watch some funny cat videos on YouTube.
- Surround yourself with positive people. Positive people can be like unicorns sometimes: where the heck are they? Look closely, they’re around. Your positive person could be a coach or blogger you follow. Sadly, it may not be some members of your family.
- Remind yourself of your “why”. Why are you doing what you do? For financial freedom, your family, what? I have a practice of setting a picture of my family in front of me while I’m working. When negativity sets in, I use the image to remind me of my why.
Success Will Come!
I’ve learned to overcome most of my self-doubt by following the above tips. You can, too. Stop obsessing over followers or analytics or re-pins! Take time every day to work on your business, even if it’s just for an hour. You’ll continue to grow, and before you know it, you’re there!
